Saturday afternoon, they sold the North American Distribution rights to Roadside Attractions. RA has regularly used Sundance as a source for films, having picked up films such as SUPER SIZE ME and THE COVE in the past.

Now that certainly made the festival a success for the film, but things got better Saturday night. They picked up two major festival awards: The dramatic competition grand jury prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.Deep in the Ozark Mountains, clans live by a code of conduct that no one dares defy—until an intrepid teenage girl has no other choice. When Ree Dolly’s crystal-meth-making father skips bail and goes missing, her family home is on the line. Unless she finds him, she and her young siblings and disabled mother face destitution. In a heroic quest, Ree traverses the county to confront her kin, break their silent collusion, and bring her father home.

With thrilling tension, Winter’s Bone depicts an archetypal rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood. Only this time, the young warrior is a girl. As our heroine braves immoveable obstacles, she redefines the notion of family loyalty and, in the process, discovers her own power. The spare precision of Debra Granik’s direction is effortlessly profound. Stunningly genuine performances and exquisite visual details capture the textures and rhythms of a world where the mythic and the naturalistic intermingle.

Based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell, WB is directed by Debra Granik (DOWN TO THE BONE) with a screenplay from Granik and Anne Rosellini. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Sheryl Lee and Tate Taylor.

I can’t wait to see this film. If it is half as good as it sounds, it will be fantastic.